


Ransom

by emo_trashcan



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Abduction, Angst, Cute, Established Relationship, Gay, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Modern AU, Panic Attacks, Ransom, Slash, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26597770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emo_trashcan/pseuds/emo_trashcan
Summary: Merlin is held for ransom and Arthur has to get him back.I swear the story is better than the description. Set in a modern AU.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 93





	Ransom

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin (but if I did I would have ended it differently T-T) 
> 
> No profit is being made from this.
> 
> Characters belong to BBC from the show Merlin (2008). 
> 
> But please don’t steal my work, thanks.

Merlin didn’t know how it happened. One minute he was walking down the street minding his own business, and the next he was being grabbed from behind and a cloth was shoved over his mouth. 

When he came back to consciousness, the first thing he noticed was his throbbing headache. Then he groaned and blinked in the darkness, trying to make out any sort of shapes. When he tried to bring his hands to his head, he realized that he was tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth. 

What was happening? 

“Sounds like he’s woken up,” said a gruff voice in the corner. “It’s time to send the message.” 

Merlin’s mind started reeling quickly. What message? Where was he? What did these people want with him? 

Suddenly a bright light was shined on him and he winced, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Take the picture,” another person said. 

“No, wait. I don’t think he seems to be in enough pain,” scowled someone else. Cruel laughter came from multiple deep voices in the room. They all sounded like large men, but that was only a guess since Merlin’s eyes were blinded by the light pointed at his face. 

Somebody stepped in front of him and placed their fingers under the raven haired man’s chin, tilting his head up. 

“Look at you, such a pretty thing... it would be a shame if someone were to ruin that,” the person said, and you could practically hear their smirk. 

Merlin couldn’t comprehend what was happening until he took a powerful blow to the face from the person’s fist. Then another. Then another. He tasted blood in his mouth and felt his left eye begin to swell. 

Merlin groaned again and slumped forward. He heard the person walk behind him and grab his hair, yanking his head up and forcing his face in view of the other people in the room. 

“This good enough?” the person asked sinisterly. 

The others made noises of agreement. Then there was the sound of a camera clicking and people murmuring quietly. 

After a couple of minutes, someone announced, “It’s sent!” and everyone went silent. 

“All we have to do now is wait for the response,” a voice said after a moment. 

Merlin tried to ignore the awful pain he was in and attempted to think clearly. What did these people want with him? Most likely use him for ransom money. Who were they blackmailing? Merlin wasn’t rich or anything and his- oh no. They were blackmailing Arthur. Of course! Arthur was the owner of the Pendragon multimillion company now that his father had passed away. Merlin and Arthur had been dating for a year and that meant he was good blackmail material for criminals like these. Just fantastic. 

The silence in the room was quickly broken as someone declared, “We’ve got a reply!”

“What’d he say?”

“He said he’d pay the money and meet at the warehouse in an hour. Start packing up the van.” 

Movement filled the room and someone very large came over to Merlin, roughly untying his bonds and pulling him off the chair. His legs were too weak to stand, but it didn’t matter since the person practically carried him out of the room. Merlin tried his best to take in his surroundings but it was so dark and his eye was almost completely swollen shut. The person dragging him along stopped and tied Merlin’s wrists together again very tightly and put a blindfold on him. Then he was shoved into the back of a musty smelling vehicle. 

There were so many intense emotions plaguing Merlin’s mind and his head was pounding from his injuries. All he wanted was to be safe with Arthur back at home. 

He must’ve passed out or something because the next thing he knew, Merlin was being pulled out of the van and dragged across a cold floor. 

“He’s arrived! Get the hostage and hold him at gunpoint. We need to make Mr. Pendragon desperate.”

Merlin tried to shout at the person who spoke, call them some crude name, but the duct tape over his mouth restrained him. Whoever was handling him wrapped a strong arm around his front, making sure he wouldn’t try to escape, and pressed something hard and metal to the side of his head. 

Oh shit. That’s a gun. Well, what did Merlin expect? He’d heard the person say ‘gunpoint’ but his brain just didn’t register the information fast enough. 

After a few moments, Merlin heard some noises coming from around him and then the voice of his lover, which was like sweet music, pierced the air.

“Alright, I stuck to our agreement about not bringing any police, and I’ve brought the money in cash form like you wanted. Just do not hurt him,” Arthur said, and Merlin could hear the fear in his tone. 

“Good, now put the money on the table and we will release your partner,” came a muffled voice close to Merlin. His captors must be wearing masks. 

There were footsteps and then a thump. 

“Okay, now let him go,” Arthur growled. 

There were more footsteps and some rustling. 

“Very well, a deal is a deal,” the voice said after a minute, and Merlin found himself being shoved forward. He stumbled a couple feet before falling to the ground with a grunt of pain. Immediately he felt Arthur’s familiar arms wrapped around him and trying to untie the bindings, pulling off the blindfold and duct tape. 

“Oh my God, Merlin what did they do to you? Oh, lord, are you very hurt? Did they do anything else? I’m so sorry, I’ll never let this happen again,” Arthur whispered worriedly, fussing over his boyfriend’s state. 

“I-It’s okay, I’m fine,” Merlin managed to choke out, but really, he had no idea how he felt. He was so shaken up and couldn’t grasp what had happened. 

The two didn’t even notice the criminals quickly fleeing the scene and disappearing into the night, not leaving a trace. 

“Those bloody bastards,” Arthur scowled. “I’ll make them pay for what they did some day. I promise you that. Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

Merlin allowed Arthur to pick him up bridal style and carry him out of the mysterious warehouse and back to his car. Placing his boyfriend gently in the front seat, Arthur brushed some hair out of Merlin’s face and kissed him softly on the lips. 

“I’ll keep you safe from now on, alright? Everything is going to be okay,” he promised quietly. Merlin just nodded solemnly. 

The ride back to their apartment was silent. Neither one really knew what to say, but that was fine because they were both tired and needed sleep. 

Once they arrived back home, Arthur got to work cleaning Merlin’s wounds and giving him an ice pack for his eye. He couldn’t seem to stop apologizing either. 

“Arthur,” Merlin said, sounding exhausted. “I’m going to be okay, there is no need to say sorry so much. I’m alive and I haven’t broken any bones so you don’t have to be so worried. I just... I just need to rest.”

“Right, of course, I’ll let you get some sleep,” Arthur replied instantly, guiding Merlin to the bed and helping him settle down. 

“I’m going to make a few phone calls, but I’ll come back in a bit. You just try to get some rest, love,” the blonde man said soothingly. Again, Merlin just nodded and gave a small smile when Arthur kissed him on the forehead. Then he was alone. 

Sleep found him quickly, but his nightmares were merciless and he jolted awake after only an hour or two. By this time, Arthur was asleep next to him and the room was dark. Merlin’s eye ached and the bruises on his face felt sore. Every time he heard a noise in the apartment he jumped and looked around in fear. 

Turns out that being kidnapped and held for ransom is kind of traumatizing. Those criminals were still out there, and they got what they wanted. What if they found him again and did the same thing? What if they didn’t let him go so easily next time? 

Merlin’s heart seemed to race and he felt as though he couldn’t breathe. Why was he freaking out over nothing? What was wrong with him? Panic seemed to fill his every thought, clouding his senses. 

All he could do was take short gasping breaths and try not to wake the sleeping man next to him. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,” he choked out, trying to convince his brain to stop panicking. It wasn’t very effective since his eyes just started to fill with hot tears and that sent him into a fit of muffled sobs. 

Obviously, Arthur awoke at these sounds and opened his eyes sleepily. 

“Merlin?” he asked with concern lacing his voice. “What’s wrong? What happened?” 

“I-I’m sorry, I’m okay-” the younger man tried to say, but he was cut off by his boyfriend pulling him into a comforting embrace. This just caused him to break out in more sobs. 

“It’s alright, love. Let it out. I’m right here,” Arthur murmured gently into his partner’s dark hair. 

Merlin pressed his forehead to the blonde’s chest and let the tears seep out of him. After a while of this, he finally few quiet and sighed. 

“Sorry, Arthur. I shouldn’t have woken you up,” he whispered. The other man pulled away from the hug just enough to stare into Merlin’s eyes and wipe away some remaining tears. 

”Don’t apologize, you’ve done nothing wrong. You know I’d do anything for you. Is this about what happened earlier?” 

Merlin gave a small shrug and glanced away. 

“Hey, it’s okay to be shaken up, especially after something like that. I made a few calls and I’m going to open an investigation to see if we can figure out who those people were. I promise. You’re safe with me,” Arthur said firmly, pressing a kiss to his lover’s cheek. 

“I know. Thank you. I love you so much,” Merlin replied, burying his head into the other’s shoulder. 

“I love you, too. More than you could imagine,” Arthur responded softly. 

And that’s how they fell asleep, safe in each other’s arms. 

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll probably be writing more Merthur fics if I can find the motivation because I have an obsession with this ship. Thanks for reading :)


End file.
